Cipriano Vigil- Musician/Artisan/Collector in El Rito, N.M.

[sleepysurf]

My wife and I just got back from a vacation to Albuquerque/Santa Fe, NM, to see the Annual Balloon Festival, and explore the surrounding area. The balloon festival was fantastic, but the unexpected highlight of our trip was stumbling upon the annual El Rito (N.M.) Artist Tour, and meeting local musician/artisan- Cipriano Vigil, who makes cigar-box guitars (amplifiers, too!). He goes into local schools to teach students how to make their own cigar-box guitars, and also plays/demo's unique instruments from his vast collection of 300+, including one called a Horn Violin. He allowed me to record these short video's. He also sings, and has recorded a number of Mexican Folk Music CD's, and original compositions. He was one of the most passionate music aficionado's I've ever met! I even emailed CBS Sunday Morning producers, begging them to do a segment on him!

For those of you that live, or planning a vacation out that way, you really should check him out! His home/gallery is in El Rito, NM.


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[sleepysurf]

Here's one of his cigar box guitars, matching amp, along with a tortoise shell guitar he made, and some other instruments in his collection!